California Gov. race: Whitman gives herself $20 mil

The billionaire nominated by Republicans as their candidate for California governor, Meg Whitman, has just dumped another $20 million of her own money into the campaign — after spending $68 million of her fortune in the primary.

Whitman is a former chief executive officer of the on-line auction firm eBay, and has vowed to spend as much as $150 million from her own checkbook to become governor of the country’s most populous state.

As of May 22, the Whitman campaign coffers were down to $3.774 million. Whitman spent more than $80 million in the primary, more than 80 percent of it coming out of her own deep pockets.

The Whitman war chest suddenly soared to $24.456 million with a $20 million contribution made by Whitman last Thursday.

By contrast, the Democrats’ nominee, ex-Gov. Jerry Brown, has been sitting on a $20.8 million and started spending it just before the primary. The first Brown spot centered on the thousands of negative TV ads Whitman put on the air in dispatching GOP primary opponent Steve Pozner.